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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26062291">Dreams of Alternate Realities</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avesolaris/pseuds/Avesolaris'>Avesolaris</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Brotherhood, Brothers, Cousin Incest, Drama &amp; Romance, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Implied/Referenced Incest, Pre-Naruto Canon Era, Romance, Uchiha Clan-centric, War, Warring States Period (Naruto)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:33:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,148</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26062291</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avesolaris/pseuds/Avesolaris</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Uchiha Izuna falls for a woman at a bar. As her identity is unveiled, so are the strings of his broken heart.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Senju Hashirama/Uzumaki Mito, Senju Tobirama/Senju Touka, Senju Touka/Uchiha Izuna, Uchiha Izuna &amp; Uchiha Madara</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Dreams of Alternate Realities</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Chanced upon this draft I did a couple of years ago and thought I'd give it the light of day. There are too few warring states era and Izuna centric fics out there, so why not? Izuna Uchiha is a fascinating character who has had an immense impact on Madara, but we don't know much about him so I decided to get imaginative. I'm a sucker for star crossed lovers, so this ended up being an IzuToka fic, which suits the mood of the entire warring states era given that Toka herself was also a genjutsu specialist and a warrior to boot. I recall Lana Del Ray's song "Lust for Life" and thinking how apt it was for a tragic romance and voila! </p><p>While it's mainly a IzuToka fic, it was fun sneaking in bits of the Uchiha bros' relationship and how Madara really got his eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Climb up the H of the Hollywood Sign, yeah</em>
</p><p>
  <em>In these stolen moments</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The world is mine</em>
</p><p>
  <em>There's nobody here, just us together</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Keepin' me hot like July forever</em>
</p><p>He heard her before he saw her, an angel's voice the only beacon of light in the darkness of the dingy bar.</p><p>Beautiful women were aplenty, but she was different from all the other beautiful women. And yet, there was something oddly familiar about her. He just couldn't think where he could have seen her before.</p><p>Izuna would never forget the very first time he laid eyes upon her, and their eyes met - black with aquamarine, yin and yang, worlds apart yet strung by the same thread.</p><p>He has money of his own now, he builds connections with the rich to supply his clan's weapons and medical needs, and whatever gold he has left he could just wave it at any girl in the bar and they'd come flocking like bees to the honey.</p><p>Thus his surprise when he raises a hand full of cash, and she ignores him, pretends she doesn't see him and proceeds to walk away to the dressing room, the long black dress accentuating her tall and svelte frame just right, and Izuna tried his best not to stare at that sliver of smooth, pale flesh of legs that stretch on forever.</p><p>Instead he blocked her way and asks for a drink and a chat.</p><p>She agreed, but Izuna doesn't miss the look of distaste and wariness that flash across her eyes before she masks it with fake interest.</p><p>She's a hot favourite of the clients, not only because of her exotic good looks and hypnotising voice. Charm, mystique and intelligence were accessories she wore proudly on her frame, unafraid to show them in a world dominated by men.</p><p><em>"Mina, my name is Mina,"</em> she says.</p><p><em>"Kira",</em> Izuna replies, he knows he's famous enough not to reveal his true name to her. He had even performed a transformation jutsu earlier to mask his real identity; he couldn't risk some bounty hunter or enemy clan shinobi spotting him at a bar and attacking him where he was most vulnerable no matter how powerful he was.</p><p>They discover new things about each other, like how Mina loves swimming and is a swimming champ amongst her family. That she lives by the sea and loves poetry and plays the flute in her spare time.</p><p>He had come to the bar for some harmless flirtation and fun, he never expected to have a deep conversation with someone else - the kind where you realise that there is something intangible tying you and the other person together. The shared the love and lust for life and all it meant to them.</p><p>Captivated was the word. Izuna had never been captivated with a woman. They were either witless or cowards, nothing much worth his attention. But she was different.</p><p><em>"I'll come back for you,"</em> Izuna says, his fingers reaching up to brush against her soft, powdered cheeks gently and she stills for the slightest of moments, tension and fear rolled up like tight coils along her corded muscles.</p><p>But he heeds no attention to that, instead pressing a soft, chaste kiss upon her lips, savouring the distinct taste of spring flowers and peaches on her - and something hungry in him rises like a snake, ready to strike and claim.</p><p>A soft hand pushes him back, and Mina is looking at him with amusement twinkling in her eyes, <em>"You silly boy, don't kiss people without asking their permission."</em></p><p>She stands to leave, and Izuna grabs her by the hand, desperate.</p><p><em>"I meant what I said,"</em> he said, eyes boring intently to her.</p><p><em>"I know,"</em> she smiles, <em>"if you'll excuse me I have a party to attend."</em></p><p>Anger fills him suddenly, to be spurned by a woman despite his earnestness. No woman had ever <strong><em>not</em></strong> fallen for his charm. He will conquer her just like he did all the other women.</p><p>So when he came by the bar the next time and discovered that she had left for good without a trace, he saw red.</p>
<hr/><p>Fate, it turns out has a funny way of playing the worst jokes on people.</p><p>He found her right when he least expected to find her.</p><p>In a border skirmish along the border of the Uchiha lands.</p><p>Mina was a shinobi, the <em>"Flying Sparrow"</em> as what the Uchiha border guards nicknamed the speed ghost who had previously taken out an entire four man cell on her own in minutes.</p><p>Mina was a Senju.</p><p>Mina was Senju Toka, famed genjutsu specialist and frontline warrior of his most hated enemy and cousin to the powerful Senju brothers.</p><p>And he had kissed her.</p><p>They didn't need words to communicate. The look in her eyes told him she knew his real identity that night months ago. That explained her coldness towards him, and for a fleeting moment he had to bite down the bile that rose from his throat about his foolishness in even attempting to wish more with her.</p><p>They traded blows, and he feels the familiar adrenaline rush that comes with battling a formidable opponent, feels the same coiling snake that night within him rear its head, hungry and wanting.</p><p>She wasn't called the Flying Sparrow for nothing, right when he was about to deliver a decapitating blow, she vanished entirely, chakra nowhere to be sensed, and Izuna felt a sharp pang of fear and alarm at how he was unable to sense her despite his advanced sensing abilities.</p><p>No matter, he knew her true identity now. Finding her would be less of a challenge.</p><p>His lips pulled up into a smirk. He'll come back for her, that he promised, and it was a promise he intended to keep.</p>
<hr/><p>He finds her in the daimyo's guest chambers, on a mission somewhere, right where he wanted her.</p><p>The moonlight cut like a silver knife through the room as he slammed her against the wood, arms pinning her wrists to the sides and locking her in with his taller and larger frame.</p><p>She hissed like a wildcat, ready to bite and claw her way out of his cage but he was too strong, her kicks were futile against his well-trained body and a shift of his legs was sufficient to trap her limbs into a stronghold.</p><p><em>"I won't hurt you,"</em> he says, breathing against her lips, <em>"I only want one night with you."</em></p><p>And she stares at him like he's crazy.</p><p><em>"You must be mad, Uchiha,"</em> she says, her face a mixture of disbelief and horror.</p><p><em>"I'm not mad,"</em> he replies, smirking languidly as he leans in closer, <em>"I just want to live, even for one night, and so do you. Don't try to hide away from me any longer."</em></p><p>The hissing and resistance stops, and that is all he needs to swoop in and claim her fully on the lips.</p><p>
  <em>Take off, take off</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Take off all your clothes</em>
</p><p>Falling, falling off a cliff was what it felt like as Izuna drops her onto the silken sheets, following after as he plants smooth, butterfly kisses along her elegant, curved neck, her sighs and moans an orchestra to his ears.</p><p>He has to see her beautiful face again, admire her beauty as she comes undone before him.</p><p>And he raises himself onto his arms, taking the sight of her beneath him and a surging hunger pumps through his veins as his eyes rake like a hungry wolf's across the smooth expanse of her toned body, impressed by the perfect proportion of everything - from the gentle curves of her slender waist to the long legs that seemed to stretch on forever.</p><p>So caught up in his lust was he that he almost missed the gasp of horror that left her lips upon seeing his activated Sharingan, body tensing up and fear rolling in palpable ways from her lithe body pressed underneath him.</p><p>Izuna pauses as he looks at her square in the eyes, but she's already looking away, likely searching for a nearby weapon of choice to attack him with. Knowing her, she was petrified, believing him duplicitous enough to lure her into his trap and kill her.</p><p>He hated it, hated the look in her eyes - so fearful, like he was a <strong><em>monster</em></strong>.</p><p><em>"Don't be afraid,"</em> he whispers gently, stroking her cheek reassuringly, <em>"it activates when we are emotional. You are just too beautiful my love."</em></p><p>And he catches her free hand tenderly, the metal coldness of a kunai greeting him. He smiled to himself as he registered her shock from the sharp jolt of her fingers.</p><p>Bringing her hand up, he plants a chaste kiss on it before placing it against him, allowing her to cup the angular lines of his face as he gazes down at her, urging her. <em>"Look at me."</em></p><p>She does, hesitantly, through her periphery - and for a moment, a mixture of shock passes across her eyes and Izuna smiles softly, pleased to see the fear displaced for that briefest of moments as she looks upon him curiously, no doubt a thousand thoughts and questions running through her mind.</p><p><em>"I adore you,"</em> he declares, before he reaches down to kiss her tenderly on one porcelain smooth cheek, stroking warm, comforting circles along her hips and it was like all that instilled fear and shinobi instinct melted away and she unfurls pliantly beneath him, letting the kunai drop with a clang onto the floor.</p><p>Pure ecstasy was all he felt as he enters her, holding her tight in his embrace and in that moment, he felt like a man - bold, invincible, free.</p><p>Just as it couldn't feel any better, a crescendo rises within the both of them and he's spilling himself wholly into her, his strength of emotions a raging sea, before all stills into a peaceful calm within them.</p><p>As they lay wrapped in each other's embrace, Izuna starts to have an inkling of exactly what made previously wanton men like Naka settle down with one woman the rest of their lives. It was like the first time he met her at a bar, and he felt it again - that tug within his heart each time he held her or looked at her, and it only intensified as he coupled with her.</p><p><em>"Stay with me,"</em> he whispers, eyes beckoning and he's pleased to see that she looks at him, at his swirling Sharingan, <strong><em>fearless</em></strong>, and what he hoped was affection in her gaze.</p><p>It was in those few tense silent moments that Izuna felt like a younger teenage boy again who had no clue how to approach the women he liked, the distinct fear of rejection pounding within his ears and his heart races as he waits.</p><p>She kisses him and buries herself further into his arm, laying her head on his muscled chest, <em>"I'd love to."</em></p><p>And his heart is calm once more.</p>
<hr/><p>They had lost count of the number of times they had met, hidden under the indigo veil of the night. Not like they cared, every moment they had with each other they lapped up like a man thirsting for water in the dry desert. With each passing day, the skirmishes and the battles became increasingly frequent, and Izuna sometimes found himself wondering if she would ever turn up at their designated meeting place, or if she had perished in one of the major battles.</p><p>He scowled internally - people like Senju Tobirama didn't make it easy to pick out Toka in the mass of shinobi, not when he was always battling him and Toka was incredibly skilled in altering her appearance to look exactly like a man's and even changing the colour and feel of her chakra.</p><p>He didn't want to think about that when that time came.</p><p>For now, all they had was each other and all he needed was her - to be by her side, wrap his arms around her and make believe that he had the power to protect her from the horrors that lay in the world outside.</p><p>As she lay there, held within his arms, she reaches out and strokes his face tenderly, her aquamarine eyes trapping the light of the diamond stars above as they hold a sadness she could not express to him.</p><p><em>"Do you have a betrothed?"</em> she asks.</p><p>Izuna's mind stays blank for a few moments, taken aback at such a sudden question. Where did that even come from?</p><p><em>"No, not yet. I think the elders are more concerned about finding one for my brother,"</em> he replies warily, <em>"why?"</em></p><p><em>"I have a betrothed,"</em> she whispers, <em>"we've been betrothed for years now."</em></p><p>Izuna's arms clench tightly around her, hardly believing what he was hearing, and something like a knife starts slicing through his heart, ripping the edges around it to expose the raw flesh beneath, ugly and jagged.</p><p>
  <em>"Do you love him?"</em>
</p><p><em>"Have you lain with him?"</em> was the burning unsaid question that was pegged to it, like a scythe dragging after the Grim Reaper himself, cutting those bonds loose.</p><p>A few tense, silent moments pass, and Toka breathes the accursed words, <em>"Yes, but not in the way I should."</em></p><p><em>"And why are you telling me this now?"</em> Izuna demands, surprised at how he can whisper these words of accusation without yelling at her or even taking his katana from its sheath and running it through her for her betrayal.</p><p><em>But it's not a betrayal</em>, the rational side of him says. Not when both of them are enemies and are supposed to be killing each other instead of fucking.</p><p>Not when what they had between them was a betrayal of their own clans and they should stop immediately.</p><p><em>Breathe, Izuna, breathe</em>, he tells himself.</p><p>When he opens his eyes to look upon her, he knows his fearsome Sharingan is activated because he saw the world in splashes of red and blue, enlightening him to the movement of life and chakra around him.</p><p>Toka's form is green, comforting and serene just like Hashirama's but her chakra is disrupted and chaotic, pinpricks of fear and restlessness.</p><p>Her soft voice is the only thing that cuts through the haze of red, blue and green, pulling his attention away from the swirling life around him, <em>"I'm sorry. I've been selfish - I think it will be better for both of us if we stop doing what we do."</em></p><p>There it is - that apology and the promise of a secret reason she'd never tell him. Not like he wanted to stay and be a nice guy and find out.</p><p>He needed out.</p><p>So he did what she asked. He got up, dressed back in his signature dark robes and leapt out the window, blending into the night, not bothering to look back even once.</p>
<hr/><p>The next time they meet it is as enemies.</p><p>It is spring, and the smell of fresh daisies dance throughout the wooden clearing as they look upon each other with different eyes.</p><p>It was intoxicating and lovely, the smell of daises and that fresh breeze of peach flowers in bloom that join after, and Izuna allows the smallest of smiles to tug upon his lips as he looks at her, dressed in a flowing white dress, a red rose tucked carefully in her hair.</p><p><em>"You should do this more often on the battlefield, perhaps it might actually turn the tide in the Senju's favour, don't you think?"</em> he says, unable to help the morbid chuckle that leaves his lips.</p><p>She merely tilts her head shyly to the side, a blush blooming upon her porcelain cheeks and Izuna has to fight the urge to reach out and caress them.</p><p>No more. She will get her just end, just like the rest of her family will.</p><p>He knows why she appeared before him like this, choosing this particular genjutsu to present herself. It was a form of apology, showing herself in the sweetest form she knew he liked on her.</p><p><em>"Perhaps,"</em> she replies, <em>"but I only do this for men who mean much to me."</em></p><p>She raises her aquamarine eyes to look to him, and with light easy steps is right in front of him, arms skimming up his own even as he clenches the katana in hand, ready to strike whenever.</p><p>A brush of lips, and he tastes her again.</p><p>When they both open their eyes, it is to the sight of her holding a child in her arms, and <strong><em>this</em></strong> - Izuna did not expect.</p><p>His heart skips a few beats for a moment as he stares down at the sleeping babe, hair indigo black and skin pale as the moon - just like they all Uchiha had. But unlike all the Uchiha babies, this one had wavy hair that curled in adorable and lustrous waves like Toka's, his cheeks plump and pink tainted like hers.</p><p><em>"Is he...?"</em> Izuna finds himself blubbering out like a witless fool, completely floored by this beautiful creature presented to him.</p><p><em>"Yes,"</em> Toka smiles, eyes shining brightly, <em>"His name is Kagami. Isn't he beautiful like his father?"</em></p><p>Looking upon the sleeping child in her arms and how radiant Toka looked, Izuna felt his heart combust with pride and unadulterated happiness, followed by the pain of a thousand arrows, poisoned with the anger, hurt and bloodshed of their ancestors before them and he wakes himself up.</p><p>It took a lot of effort, but he managed to shake the caged serpent within himself and watched as it broke free, slithering up to wrap itself around Toka and Kagami, its midnight black scales gleaming sinisterly in the bright sunlight as the basilisk raised its head, jaw extended wide open and baring its fangs to the world, dripping poison.</p><p><em>"Stop, please! He's innocent!"</em> Toka cries as she tries to release herself from the basilisk's strong hold, looking in horror as baby Kagami gasps and chokes for air.</p><p><em>"Too late princess, you and your kind had it coming for a long time, and who better to deliver it to you than the one closest to you?"</em> Izuna grins, his smile bloodthirsty and he laughs - maniacal, free and uncaged, and the basilisk cries along with him.</p><p><em>"Now feel my anger,"</em> he says at last, and the basilisk swoops down and devours mother and child whole, the sound of cracking bone and desperate cries and gasps for air music to Izuna's ears.</p><p>The genjutsu breaks, and Izuna reaches out to catch her as she falls, hands clutching her side as she gasps for breath and winces in pain.</p><p>He had been well prepared, using a poison laced short sword for this, given the Senju's regenerative abilities. As she lies dying in his arms, she reaches out and brushes his cheek tenderly, eyes brimming with tears and once again Izuna finds himself wanting to drown again in the ocean of her eyes while his own burns.</p><p>
  <em>"Thank you. It was short, but I've lived a thousand lives with you."</em>
</p><p>A smile graces her red painted lips, <em>"I love you."</em></p><p>And she slips into the arms of death with a contented sigh.</p><p>It was then that something extraordinary happened - where there was the familiar shades of chakra blue through the lens of his Sharingan, the world bled into a canvas of black and red before a surge of purple enveloped his senses, crowding and squeezing the blue chakra of the living things around him dry.</p><p>The sound of cracking bones and an angry wail reached his ears, and Izuna looked up in horror to see a giant human skeleton rising several feet above him, towering over the treetops, a shroud of purple covering its form as its arms raised two unsheathed swords, ready to strike.</p><p><em>"No way,"</em> Izuna found himself whispering in disbelief. This was something that he had only heard of in legends, of an extraordinary and fearsome power that came with the awakening of the Mangekyo.</p><p>
  <em>"Susanoo."</em>
</p>
<hr/><p>When Izuna finally informs Madara of his possession of the Mangekyo, it was on a dark night in spring with only the moon and the blazing stars to light their way in the darkness.</p><p>He recognises the look on his older brother's face, but is grateful that his brother does not ask him how he came to possess the Mangekyo. He was considerate enough not to ask.</p><p>Instead Madara beckons him into his personal study and moves to unfurl a scroll on the table, his face smoothed back into his usual calm and stoic expression.</p><p>
  <em>"The daimyo sent us a very handsome reward for dispatching of the entire Senju unit, especially of Senju Toka. She's been an eyesore to them for quite a few years already, manipulating the daimyo's son like that."</em>
</p><p>It took all of his self control to not let anything show on his face, but Izuna felt close to sick upon the mention of her name.</p><p>
  <em>"Manipulating the daimyo's son?"</em>
</p><p>Picking up a brush, Madara started writing on the scroll, oblivious to the raging storm within his younger brother's heart.</p><p><em>"Yes, I'm surprised you don't know about this, you're our best spy out there. Toka is the daimyo's son's favourite court dancer, and the daimyo has been suspecting her of trying to turn his support towards some enemy political factions within the court,"</em> answered Madara.</p><p>A rustle of paper could be heard as Madara proceeded to pick up another scroll as he clucked in disapproval, <em>"Trust the Senju to influence the nobles like that."</em></p><p><em>"If there is nothing else, I'll retire for the night then. I'm tired from the mission,"</em> said Izuna.</p><p>Madara gave him a quick glance over, <em>"You better watch your back more carefully now. Senju Toka is a very high ranking and prominent shinobi amongst the Senju. Once Tobirama finds out you killed his fiancée, he'll be screaming for your blood when you next meet on the battlefield."</em></p><p>Izuna's brain went silent.</p><p><em>"Toka is Tobirama's fiancée ? Aren't they cousins?"</em> said Izuna, disbelieving.</p><p>He couldn't. This was too crazy to be true.</p><p>Madara merely shrugged, <em>"I just found out about this too, Hashirama just <strong>had</strong> to tell me about it",</em> pointing at the scroll in front of him.</p><p><em>"As to them being cousins and engaged, it beats me. Maybe they want to be like the Hyuga and practice incest too,"</em> he continued, nose crinkling slightly in disgust by this practice as well.</p><p>It was then that the conversation just a month ago came flooding back to Izuna.</p><p>
  <em>"Do you love him?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Yes, but not in the way I should."</em>
</p><p>He frowned. For all he knew, it could be incest. War had a weird and effective way of breeding monsters in places people least expected. Shaking his head, he bowed one final time to his older brother before leaving the room, the air suddenly feeling too warm and claustrophobic for him.</p>
<hr/><p>Sure enough, Tobirama is merciless, like a wild aggrieved man.</p><p>And Izuna cannot help but delight in it, milk it for all it was worth and drink it like it was some golden elixir bestowed upon him from the heavens.</p><p>
  <em>"Did you know your dear fiancée was a common whore?"</em>
</p><p><em>"What did you say?"</em> hissed Tobirama, his maroon eyes taking on a maniacal light that the Uchiha never thought the Senju brother capable of - as far as he knew, madness ran mostly in the Uchiha, worsened by their photographic memory that burned all emotions into eternity.</p><p><em>"I'm surprised no one told you about it,"</em> laughed Izuna as he parried the blow from Tobirama's sword, eyes crinkling in amusement as he looked at Tobirama's seething face through the sparks from the blades.</p><p><em>"She even offered herself freely to me, you know,"</em> he continued as he raised his sword yet again, ready for the next onslaught.</p><p>Only that it never came.</p><p>Tobirama was staring at him, disbelief and deep-running anger causing his blue chakra to swirl like a churning sea.</p><p>
  <em>"Is what you just said true?"</em>
</p><p>Izuna stopped smiling, fixing the albino with a level stare, <em>"Yes. We kept it secret for months, but I had no idea she was your fiancée of all people. She must have a way in the art of deceit."</em></p><p>Silence reigned for a few moments as the two warriors stared at each other, united by the ghost of a woman and the ugly, raw feelings it bred in them, and Izuna can't help but think the gods must have played such a cruel joke on the both of them, he could almost pity Tobirama. Almost.</p><p>If not for the fact that he felt more sorry for himself.</p><p><em>"At least you had her",</em> Izuna thought bitterly, "<em>I never did."</em></p><p>Tobirama seemed to have read his mind, and lowered his sword slowly, his maroon gaze never leaving Izuna's face, <em>"We both were fooled by her."</em></p><p>Was that a hint of empathy detected in Tobirama's voice?</p><p><em>"One day, Izuna...I swear I will kill you and avenge her death,"</em> said Tobirama at last, so soft Izuna almost missed it amidst the screeching shriek of metal, anguished war cries and rumblings of the rising earth around them.</p><p>Izuna merely flashed a grin back, <em>"I look forward to it then."</em></p>
<hr/><p>Time passes, and in a blink of an eye, it's been a year since Toka's death and Tobirama's ominous promise to kill him himself.</p><p>The past year could not have been better, if Izuna had to say anything about it. She was a mistake, a black ink blot upon his colourful canvas full of summer nights, parties, and the smiles of the prettiest women in town. And he was doing a damn good job in erasing that black blot off his perfect canvas, starting from the maliciously gleeful delight he gets seeing her kinsmen burn from the flames of his Amaterasu, the stench of charred flesh and fear palpable on the battlefield as he earns his place as second in power only to Madara.</p><p>Even Tobirama looks upon him in fear now. <em>"Eat your words you mongrel,"</em> taunts Izuna, flashing his rival his most charming smile.</p><p>Peace, Izuna thinks, will be within the Uchiha's grasp if he fights hard enough and soon the Senju will be pushed to one corner, starting with Tobirama's death on his hands.</p><p>The horn blows as the sun sets over the horizon and the battle is called off, with victory to the Uchiha and Izuna heads back, helping Madara to organise the wounded and survivors as they clear out the battlefield.</p>
<hr/><p>He's living well, he thinks to himself. And the clan thought so too, he sees it in Madara's bright eyes and the approving gazes of the elders when he marries the most beautiful and skilled kunoichi in the clan, sees it in the glint of the gold that streams in from the assignments that he acquired through his wide connections in political power.</p><p>Yet in his dreams, in his illusions of peace, he sees her, smiling sweetly at him, devoid of hatred and cunning, holding their little one and something in him twists like a knife. It takes a while for him to recognise that familiar ache of loneliness and emptiness, and it amazes him sometimes to think that it's already been two years since he killed Toka.</p><p>She was just another woman, and he found a better one. One he didn't have to kill.</p><p><em>"I can't be more alive and happy,"</em> he said, gazing up at the moon.</p><p><em>"What was that?"</em> Madara's sharp voice cut through the cool night air, snapping Izuna out of his reverie.</p><p><em>"Sorry, I was daydreaming aniki,"</em> he replies, giving his brother an apologetic smile.</p><p><em>"Sometimes it seems like you're in a world of your own, talking to or thinking of someone I don't know,</em>" sighs Madara.</p><p>Izuna only smiles at that. <em>"Oh, you have no idea."</em></p>
<hr/><p>Uchiha Kagami was a spring baby, and Izuna remembers the familiar light, flowery scent of peach blossoms and the dew of rain on green grass as his wife places the fussing babe in his arms.</p><p>As soon as his eyes land upon Kagami, Izuna’s breath catches and it’s like his greatest dream and nightmare come to life in that single instant – how cruel, he thinks, that his child would look exactly like his imaginary child with Toka in that beautiful illusion they painted together years ago. The careful, artistic strokes of their combined genjutsu prowess had captured every detail of Kagami’s face, from the lightly curled hair and rose pink cheeks and tender warmness of his tightly balled fists.</p><p><em>“Isn’t he beautiful like his father?”</em> his wife whispers in awe.</p><p>“<em>Yes, yes he is,”</em> Izuna said at last.</p><p>His wife smiles in pride, her chakra full of joy and assurance of delivering a strong heir to the clan.</p><p><em>“Look how happy you are,”</em> she said, <em>“you’re even tearing up.”</em></p><p>Izuna had no heart to tell her the tears were not ones of joy. Instead, he kisses Kagami as a welcome to his world and a silent prayer of thanks to the gods for giving him a small piece of <strong><em>her</em></strong> back to him.</p>
<hr/><p>Time healed all things, and as much as the world was cruel, it was also beautiful. Izuna liked to believe that as he watched Kagami grow day by day, committing every milestone of his growth to his memory. Kagami’s first steps, the first time Kagami successfully babbled a clumsy “pa-pa”, the first time Madara’s eyes lit up in genuine joy each time Kagami bounced happily on his lap.</p><p>And yet, that ugly snake within the cage kept twisting and turning, rearing its ugly head to sink its fangs into his active mind, its poison running through Izuna’s veins as he gazes upon Tobirama once again on the battlefield. His ears thrum with the raging beat of his heart as Tobirama gazes at him with those hateful maroon eyes, the same pain had never dulled, Izuna realized. It never did. As far as he knew Tobirama never got a new fiancée, never moved on, the ghost of his beloved hanging like a shinigami’s cloak upon him as he brandished his signature katana at Izuna, a ring gleaming like gold in the sun.</p><p>Izuna saw red. He recognized that golden band on Toka’s finger, and never would he have thought to see it on Tobirama as well.</p><p><em>“Where did you get that?”</em> Izuna hissed.</p><p><em>“Oh this? It’s my engagement band,” </em>Tobirama paused for a moment to admire it briefly, a soft smile tugging upon the corners of his lips and Izuna had to stop himself from screaming in jealousy at whatever memories were running through his rival’s mind at that moment.</p><p>
  <em>She was a liar, she was never yours. She had always truly belonged to him, not to you. </em>
</p><p>Tobirama looked at him, a smirk blooming upon his lips. <em>“It’s a Senju tradition for engaged couples to select and gift each other a matching pair, I didn’t steal it if that’s what you are asking. I’m not that uncouth.” </em></p><p><em>“Like I care, I’ve moved on unlike you pathetic self loathing piece of shit.”</em> Izuna made sure to emphasise the very precise words he knew Tobirama was feeling, and to his delight, it ignited a silent rage within the Senju warrior as he felt the killing intent ricochet a thousand notches.</p><p>
  <em>Good, so he feels pain like I do. </em>
</p><p><em>“Bring it on, Izuna, we’re finishing this,”</em> Tobirama said.</p><p>Izuna bared his teeth in a mockery of a smile, “I’d love to see you try, <strong><em>lover boy</em></strong>.”</p><p>It all happened before Izuna could even blink, he barely registered Tobirama moving, nor that stinging pain in his midriff as the katana sliced through vital organs and the blood dribbled from him lips.</p><p>“IZUNA!” he heard Madara’s scream before he felt his older brother’s strong arms wrap around him, his brother’s chakra overwhelming him with sheer horror and relentless fear.</p><p>
  <em>“Stop it Madara, let’s put an end to all this. If the two mightiest clans, the Uchiha and Senju were to join hands, every neighbouring country would see how futile it would be to challenge us. Eventually, the fighting would cease…” </em>
</p><p>Ah, there was Hashirama at it again, that obstinate, <strong><em>duplicitous</em></strong> fool. Izuna knew Madara truly believed Hashirama genuine in his overtures for peace, but his aniki didn’t know what he knew. His aniki didn’t believe Hashirama would force the Uzumaki to give them their princess Mito as tribute, all his aniki believed was the well-spread lie that the two were childhood lovers and were finally getting their dream marriage. His aniki refused to believe the sanctioned act of Senju collaborating with bloodline hunters to hunt down Uchiha squads to steal their Sharingan and sell them on the black market at exorbitant prices. It was like a never-ending chant his aniki had long shut his ears to in the many nights Izuna came by his study to report to him.</p><p><em>“Don’t let his pretty words deceive you aniki,”</em> Izuna heaved, glaring daggers at Hashirama, <em>“Have you forgotten that these bastards killed the Uchiha?”</em></p><p>The Senju couldn't be trusted. Not the woman he loved, and definitely not her betrothed and that sickening brother of his.</p><p>As he felt Madara pull him from the battlefield, he thanked the gods above that his plea had worked and his aniki was not fooled by Hashirama, as he was fooled by a certain Senju years ago.</p>
<hr/><p>Madara is grieving, and Izuna finds it a pity his brother had never learned to really live. It was hard, having the world's responsibility on his shoulders, and Izuna was acutely aware Madara had no one aside from him, and that worried him.</p><p>
  <em>"You must live passionately aniki, or life will be even more miserable than it already is. I know of a really sweet lady, you can start a family with her."</em>
</p><p>"How can you even be talking like that?!" His aniki is disbelieving, he could almost hear it, that accusation in his tone. <em>How can you be so calm about this when you’re leaving me? </em></p><p>Izuna sighs, <em>"We're shinobi - we're born to die. So why not live in this time that we have? A short life lived freely is better than a thousand lifetimes of living caged in this world."</em></p><p>There was a heavy silence as Madara attempts to absorb what he just said, the fear and grief hanging like a choking cloud around both of them.</p><p>
  <em>"And besides, maybe I'll get to see her again."</em>
</p><p>Madara is thrown off for a moment, brows furrowed, <em>"her?"</em></p><p>Izuna merely shakes his head and smiles, <em>"someone I used to love - and still do."</em></p><p>He could feel Madara’s curiosity and a slight hint of suspicion lace the churning, grieving mass of Madara’s chakra, as his older brother finally sighs in resignation.</p><p>
  <em>“After all these years, otouto, and you’ve never been open with all your secrets to me.” </em>
</p><p>Izuna smiles – ah yes. He’d always been the secretive one of the two brothers, where his aniki was more forthcoming with his emotions, Izuna preferred to veil his true intentions and feelings. It was what made him a master manipulator and head of the clan’s spy network.</p><p>
  <em>"Take my eyes - in the very least, I can be with you and live through you.” </em>
</p><p>Madara’s chakra spiked dangerously as he shook his shoulders desperately, <em>“What nonsense are you saying? Otouto, are you mad? How can you suggest such a thing? It’s cruel and power-grubbing –“ </em></p><p>But Izuna had no time for such things. <em>“As for my secrets, they will soon be yours. Please…cherish them. I want my memories of my loved ones to live on through you aniki, and to protect the Uchiha.” </em></p><p>The hands upon his shoulders gripped painfully at him, and Izuna winced.</p><p>He reached out and gripped Madara’s collar to pull him in roughly where he could feel his brother’s hot breath upon his cheek, his Mangekyo blazing bright as he poured the last vestiges of his strength into them.</p><p>Madara’s Mangekyo was blazing too, eyes red and tomoe spinning in the darkness of the room as the two brothers were locked in a challenging stare, daring the other to back down.</p><p>
  <em>“This is an <strong>order</strong> aniki. You shall take my eyes and I shall live on through them. You will not deny me this request.” </em>
</p><p>Madara’s breath hitched as a cough ripped through Izuna and he grit his teeth in pain as he felt the raw flesh pull further apart where Tobirama had sliced him clean through.</p><p>Anger and desperation was all Izuna felt as Madara attempted to pull back to tend to his wound. Izuna sighed, he had no choice then.</p><p>
  <strong> <em>Kotoamatsukami. </em> </strong>
</p><p>He watched as Madara froze, caught in the genjutsu.</p><p>Smiling in triumph, Izuna caressed his brother’s cheek affectionately one last time. <em>“Remember this.”</em></p><p>Izuna teleported them all the way on top of a cliff and Madara’s fingers jolted in shock and he had to control himself from losing his balance at the dizzying vertigo of it all.</p><p>Madara watched as a beautiful face materialized in front of him, stunning aquamarine eyes shining softly in the glow of the afternoon sun.</p><p>This was Senju Toka, was it not? Confusion ran like a blade through his mind and he watched in horror as his hand reached out to caress her face, and a feeling of love burned through his heart – a memory of a love he never had and yet felt like it was entirely his own.</p><p><em>How on earth…?</em> He had never once met Toka one to one, much less spoken to her his entire life.</p><p>It was then that it struck Madara – this was a memory. Izuna’s memory, and he was living it like his brother did years ago in this dream world.</p><p><em>“I want to show you something, if you’d allow me,”</em> he said, only instead of the deep baritone of his voice, the silk of Izuna’s voice reverberated through his ears.</p><p>Toka’s eyebrows raised in curiosity and a playful smirk danced upon her lips and Madara had to resist the urge to kiss her senseless.</p><p><em>“Don’t tell me you’re gonna genjutsu me with your Sharingan, you know the rules,”</em> she said, folding her arms to make a point.</p><p>Ah, of course. They had set some ground rules after the first few secret meetings. None of them could use their powers on each other while they were together, and that included the use of his own kekkei genkai, the Sharingan. The only exception she allowed was when they activated of their own accord when they are in the throes of passion and he just had to record her beautiful face and the way she melded so perfectly against him and …</p><p>
  <em>He was getting too carried away, he had to focus. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Yes, I know. I am asking for this one exception to break the rules. I swear I mean no harm, it’s the only way I can really show you.” </em>
</p><p>He could see Toka fidget uncomfortably at that. Lovers though they were and they trusted each other to a certain extent in some aspects, they were shinobi from a long standing blood feud, and memories and familial hatred had long been bred into them for them to forget the reality of their position.</p><p>Toka released a soft and resigned sigh as she looked up at him cautiously, her face guarded still.</p><p>
  <em>“Very well, only this once Izuna. You better make it worth it.” </em>
</p><p>A grin split his face as he poked her cheek affectionately, <em>“Come on dear, you know I’d never been one to disappoint. You ready?”</em></p><p>That earned him an exasperated smile as she nodded and gazed into his eyes, and his spinning tomoe got to work.</p><p>The forest of trees in front of them melted away to reveal a village, with a myriad of brightly tiled roofs as its inhabitants went about their daily lives, a vibrant, thrumming buzz filling the space with a life he could only dream of.</p><p>It looked oddly familiar to what he and Hashirama dreamed of, and as he focused upon the view of the village, he realized with a jolt of surprise that the layout of it was exactly as what he and Hashirama used to discuss – there was the marketplace, bustling with activity and the exchange of goods, and there was the Ninja Academy where the young children could learn the art of being shinobi without the perils of being one.</p><p><em>“Wow, that’s a really nice village you got there Izuna, I never thought you one for being an architect of cities,”</em> Toka said in wonder as she stepped forward to have a closer look, fascinated.</p><p>“<em>Do you like it?”</em> he asked, a little nervous as he reached out to grasp her delicate hands and pointed, <em>“Look, I even included a teahouse serving matcha and all kinds of snacks you can think of. You love that, don’t you Toka?” </em></p><p>An almost girlish giggle sounded in his ears as she squeezed his hand back, <em>“Of course, you’d be dumb not to know it. We have it every time we meet!”</em></p><p>
  <em>“Heh well I’ll show you something even better then!” </em>
</p><p>And he pointed in another direction, and there was Izuna and Toka, laughing away as they watched Kagami attempt to calm his crying sister with some mokuton toys Hashirama gifted them for Kagami’s first birthday.</p><p>Toka gasped as the illusion unfurled before her, her face full of sorrow, joy and hope at the same time. <em>“Is this really…?” </em>she breathed, her voice shaking.</p><p><em>“Yes, it is my dream of us, what I want us to be in the future,”</em> he said as he reached out to tilt her head towards him and he gazed earnestly into those beautiful, enchanting eyes.</p><p>
  <em>“I want to marry you, start a new live with you…I want you to be part of this world. Would you be willing to do this with me?” </em>
</p><p>Toka looks back up at him, a soft smile gracing her angelic face and she pecks him on the cheek before laying her head upon his chest like she did the first time they had lain together. <em>“I’d love that.”</em></p><p>
  <em>There’s no more night </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Blue skies forever </em>
</p><p>
  <em>There’s no stopping now </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Green lights forever </em>
</p>
<hr/><p>The world spins, the bright and vibrant colours of the village twisting into a kaleidoscope as Madara finds himself on the ground, struggling to breathe as the world suddenly turns pitch black as night.</p><p>He wakes from the genjutsu to a dead Izuna with empty eye sockets, and looks down to see his sight clearer and sharper than before, a new power surging through his veins and his pair of original eyes staring back at him.</p><p>All he remembered from that night was the warmth of soft hands upon his skin, his heart skipping beats in sync to her laugh and the whispers of an unbreakable promise he made to Izuna in the dark.</p>
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